Water Under The Bridge
by QuirkyJewel
Summary: Brooklyn Murphy never liked school. Not that she didn't enjoy learning, but gossipers and bullies always aimed at her. Now she's in Hogwarts, drama has doubled and bullying has turned into hexing. Will Brooklyn keep her newfound friends when they're split into houses? Or will she embarrass herself when she loses her temper with the famous and infamous.
1. Back to School

"Wake up already!" Ember knocked on Brooklyn's door impatiently. Brooklyn yawned and covered her ears with her pillow.

"Five more minutes." Brooklyn murmured.

"Fine."

Five minutes later Ember snuck into Brooklyn's room with a bucket in one hand, and a wand in another.

" _Aguamenti_ " The bucket filled with water. Ember smirked as she crept by her sister and poured the water on her face. The water felt like icicles on Brooklyn's skin.

"Brooklyn!" Brooklyn shivered. "You're not supposed to use magic outside of school!"

"I just poured a bucket of water on you and you're worried about some stupid rules?" Ember smiled and shoved Brooklyn with one hand.

"If you don't hurry I'll eat all the pancakes!"

Brooklyn rushed to the bathroom and fixed her matted hair. Her curls knotted together during the night, leaving a big mess for the morning. She no longer need to wet her hair thanks to Ember, so she grabbed a brown tie that matched her hair to tame it.

After getting changed, Brooklyn rushed down the stairs to get some pancakes before Ember ate them all.

"Hi Mum, hi Dad." Brooklyn said. Their mum was arranging some her books into alphabetical order and their dad was handing the butter over to Ember.

"So…are you excited for your first day at Hogwarts Brooklyn?" Their dad asked. Brooklyn paused for a moment before answering. She had been trying not to think about Hogwarts ever since she got her letter. This proved to be impossible with Ember telling stories about how popular she is with Gryffindor students. All of her friends were in Gryffindor.

"I guess." Brooklyn replied.

"That's good! How about you Ember?"

"Oh, I'm prepared. I'm going to try out for the Quidditch team, seeker to be exact." Ember smiled.

"That's nice sweetie! Which one is that again?" Brooklyn smiled and Ember rolled her eyes.

"Your father was never into sports kids." Their mum told them. "Isn't that right Andy?"

"Yes…I don't know where Ember get's it from." Paul said.

"Maybe it's your magical ancestor. I wonder what he or she was like." Ember said. Brooklyn and Ember's father was muggle born and had no close witch or wizard family members. Their mum, however, was a half-blood. Late at night when she couldn't sleep, Brooklyn would wonder which house her ancestor would be in. She didn't want to be a total black sheep when she's not sorted into Gryffindor.

"That's a possibility."

"I think we should leave soon." Their mum said. "Hurry and get your things."

 _30 minutes later_

"Ok they're gone." Brooklyn said. "Take off the sunglasses." Their mum was overprotective when it came to protection from the sun. Brooklyn did not burn as easily and she was the only one who could tan in her family.

"No, it makes me look cool. Ember replied. The sun steamed through her nearly white hair. Brooklyn felt the eyes of many on her back and felt a droplet of sweat on her forehead.

"Please take them off, you look ridiculous and everyone is staring."

"Well, great. Now I have to wear them just to annoy you. And they're judging you based off of how you talk to me so I'd play nice." Brooklyn's lip trembled in silent protest. Ember was athletic but Brooklyn knew she had something better.

"You know Ember; I'm definitely going into Ravenclaw. I love the pursuit of knowledge." Brooklyn stared at the cracks in the floor, avoiding She had stayed up late last night wondering about which house she would be sorted into.

"Somebody sounds nervous." Ember taunted.

"Why would I be?" Brooklyn laughed. "I have thought a lot about this and I know what I'm talking about."

"Well, I personally think you'd be in Hufflepuff since you're such a push over, literally."

"I am not!" Brooklyn pointed her wand under Ember's chin.

"Calm down. You don't want another incident, do you?"

Brooklyn winced.

"No." She sighed. "Can we go on the train?"

"Not yet. First, I need to point someone out to you." Ember pointed to a tall boy with chestnut hair and light skin. He had dark bags under his eyes.

"Who is he?" Brooklyn asked.

"That's Alfred Laake. He's in Slytherin and a total jerk." Alfred noticed us staring and stormed to the train.

Brooklyn rolled her eyes.

"He seems fun." she said.


	2. The Train

"I guess we should go on the train." Ember said. They walked into the train.

"Ok…" Ember looked down both sides of the hall. "You go left and I'll go right."

Brooklyn's heart skipped a beat. "W-What? I thought we were sitting in the same booth."

Ember raised an eyebrow in disgust. "No way am I going to be your only friend." Ember waltz down the hall, leaving Brooklyn alone. She wandered through the train, looking through booth windows. In one booth there were two chubby twin boys of African descent. They were a little over five feet and had curly brown hair. One boy was reading a book called _Advanced Potion Making_ and the other boy was eating chocolate frogs. Brooklyn slid open the door.

"Um do you mind if I sit with you guys?"

The boy eating chocolate smiled. "Sure! Come on in." He replied. Brooklyn laughed at his chocolate colored teeth and sat down on the seat across from them.

"I'm Brooklyn."

"Hi! I'm Hunter and this is Asher." Asher murmured a quick _hi_ without looking up from his book.

"Are you guys first years too?"

"Yep!" Hunter pulled out candy from a paper bag. "Do you want some?"

"What are they?"

"They taste just like _really_ sweet apples." Brooklyn popped a few of the candies in her mouth. Brooklyn pursed her lips.

"These are not sweet at all."

Hunter tried to act shocked, but he was smiling. "They aren't?"

"Nope. Good thing I love sour candies." Brooklyn smiled.

Hunter sighed. "I tried brother."

"Don't drag me into this." Asher said.

The train started to move. Brooklyn realized how scared she was of living away from home. But she had to admit it would be a lot worse if the only one she knew was her sister.

"Is your book good?" Brooklyn asked.

Asher looked up. "It's so interesting! Potions can have the same ingredients, but if there's one mistake it becomes a completely new potion, or a ginormous mess."

"He is such a nerd." Hunter said.

"I'm guessing you will be a Ravenclaw." Brooklyn looked at Asher.

"What? That's crazy!" Hunter said. "We're twins so we must be sorted into the same house."

"Yeah… sure bud." Asher said. Brooklyn stared at Asher with concern. Hunter was in denial and Asher refused to tell him they might be sorted into different houses.

Brooklyn yawned and slowly blinked her eyes. "I should of had more sleep last night." she thought as she drifted off to sleep.


	3. The Sorting Hat

**Ciara is pronounced:** **Keer-ah.**

The train's wheels made a screeching noise as train stopped. Brooklyn woke up and yawned.

"We're here already?" Brooklyn asked.

"Yes, silly!" Hunter laughed. "We're here!"

"Yay." Asher rolled his eyes.

Brooklyn, Hunter, and Asher went on the same boat. Another person riding the boat with them. She had dirty blonde hair that flowed over her tall, slender figure.

"Hi, I'm Ciara!" She said. "I love your shirt!" Ciara pointed to Brooklyn's light purple sweater.

"Thanks." Brooklyn smiled. There was an awkward silence between the group while they tried to think of something to say.

"Which house are you going into Ciara? Hunter asked.

"Well, I want to be sorted into Ravenclaw." She replied.

"Oh, the nerd house." Hunter bumped her shoulder playfully.

"I guess you could say that."

"There is nothing wrong with being a nerd Hunter." Asher said.

"I was just playing!" Hunter replied.

"Well, let's move on." Ciara said. "You know, my parents are muggles and they were so excited when I got into Hogwarts. April fool's day is always fun."

"I love April fool's day!" Hunter said. "It's always fun to prank this nerd." Asher was about to protest about his brother using the word "nerd" but then he realized how hypocritical that would be.

They continued to chat until the boat reached the shore. Brooklyn looked up at the huge castle. She felt like she was about to throw up her pancakes. The first years walked together into a small room where the sorting hat lay. The hat called Rose Granger-Weasley first.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled. Relief accumulated onto her face.

Next, the sorting hat called for Hunter Beckett.

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat said within a few seconds. Hunter was shocked at first, but smiled at the cheers coming from the Slytherin table.

Up next was Asher Becket. Hunter waved at him as he went up. Asher refused to make eye contact with his brother. The hat thought for about a minute before making a decision.

"RAVENCLAW!"

"I've heard of many families that drifted apart because of a black sheep." Ciara whispered into Brooklyn's ear. All of a sudden, Brooklyn felt sick and wanted to get away as soon as possible, but her feet stayed where they were.

Next was the infamous, possible son of lord Voldemort himself, Scorpius Malfoy.

"SLYTHERIN!" There was no surprise there.

Ciara Lloyd was called next and half ran half jogged to the sorting hat.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Joy overtook her as she ran to sit beside Asher.

Brooklyn caught sight of Albus Potter as he walked swiftly to the sorting hat. Many girls she knew had crushes on him, which is why she refused to.

The sorting hat thought carefully.

"SLYTHERIN!" There was pure shock in the air. Brooklyn held back a scream; Hunter and Asher looked over at each other, and Ciara grinned. The Malfoy boy spoke to him through the confusion but all Brooklyn heard was "Brooklyn Murphy." She ambled towards the sorting hat. Each step felt like excruciating pain. Brooklyn started to sweat, but luckily for her nobody seemed to care about anything else other than the Slytherin Potter.

 _Hm, very interesting._ That hat spoke in her head.

 _What?_ She thought.

 _You are very intelligent that is true, but you are also brilliant and resourceful at your strengths._

 _Which house do I belong to?_

 _Hm, you would do fine in Ravenclaw but you search for more than knowledge. You want to make something of yourself, but the choice is yours to make._

There was a long pause as Brooklyn thought. She had been there for over 5 minutes now.

 _Whatever will make me the happiest please._

"SLYTHERIN!"

Brooklyn ran over to sit beside Hunter before she cried.

Hunter looked into her emerald eyes as tears poured out of them.

"Don't be embarrassed!" Hunter said.

"I'm not, I'm just scared." She whispered.

Hunter looked down at her trembling hands.

"I am too." She barely heard him as a roar came from the Gryffindor table.


	4. The Aftermath

After being sorted into their houses the students went to Great Hall before the start-of-term feast began. Brooklyn and Hunter sat across the table from each other at the Slytherin table. Brooklyn faced the Ravenclaw table while Hunter faced the Gryffindor table. Hunter played with his mashed potatoes.

"Is he looking?" He asked. Asher was staring at his food while Ciara was assuring him.

"No. What about her?" She said. Ember and her friends were laughing at Brooklyn. Ember saw Hunter looking and rolled her eyes while she continued to laugh.

"She's being a jerk that's for sure. This is stupid." He groaned.

"Well, what did you expect, a throne?" She said between bites of food.

"Well, I didn't expect to hear Slytherin whispered every five seconds." Brooklyn was about to reply when Headmistress McGonagall spoke.

"Before I dismiss you for bed, I must ask these students to stay for a few more minutes." Headmistress McGonagall took out a piece of paper.

"Albus Potter-" Gossip erupted from every house. It took a few minutes before everyone settled down.

"Brooklyn Murphy… Hunter Becket…" They glanced at each other. Brooklyn gnawed on her lip anxiously while Hunter tried to catch his brother's eye.

"If I called your name, please stay with Professor Slughorn."

Professor Slughorn waited until everyone left before talking. He had a few students standing beside him that were a few years older than Brooklyn.

"Please come forward." He said.

"Everyone is from Slytherin." Hunter whispered to Brooklyn. She was so overwhelmed that she hadn't noticed.

While she stood up, a boy accidentally bumped her shoulder. Brooklyn finally lost her temper.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" She yelled at the boy. He turned around, it was Albus Potter. Everyone stared at her. Butterflies flew in her stomach with no mercy as she stared at Albus, unsure of what to do. Hunter dragged his shocked friend closer to the front of the room.

Professor Slughorn spoke.

"Good evening students. Don't worry you're not in trouble." He paused. "I wanted to introduce you to a few of Slytherin's top second and third year students." The professor pointed to the students behind him. One student was Alfred Laake. Alfred snickered as he watched Brooklyn realize she wasn't dreaming. Brooklyn noticed him laughing and scowled.

"What did I ever do to him?" She thought.

After professor Slughorn finished his speech, the older students took them to the Slytherin dungeon, where the other first years were waiting.

"What happened?" Ailsa McKee said. Brooklyn recognized her from the sorting hat. She yawned when the hat sorted her into Slytherin

"Professor Slughorn introduced us to his favorite Slytherin students." Hunter replied.

"But why did they call us and not them?" Fergus Moss asked Hunter. He looked confused during the sorting hat ceremony. Hunter suspected he was muggle-born. He did not care about blood status and was only curious

"Wait, how many of you that were called have family members who are Slytherin." Ailsa said. Only a few students raised their hands. Ailsa called on them, asking how they were related.

"My great aunt." One boy said.

"My second cousin once removed-" Another said. "-and my great grandfather."

"Does anyone have direct family in Slytherin?" Ailsa said. Only one person raised their hand. "Yes?"

"Do first cousins count?" She asked.

"Apparently not." Nobody understood what she was saying, or at least did not say so. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Everyone who was called has no Slytherin relatives who are from your grandmother to your siblings."

"Now I know who doesn't belong." Mannix Travers chuckled before performing a hex that made a girl's hair turn purple.

 _4 hours later_

Brooklyn tossed and turned in her bed. Her roommate Ailsa was snoring loudly, but this was not why Brooklyn couldn't sleep. She left her bed to stare out the window at the stars. After an hour, Brooklyn fell asleep by the window.


End file.
